Jazz Society presents duo in 'Play and Tell'

Thursday

Nov 29, 2012 at 3:15 AM

PORTSMOUTH — The Seacoast Jazz Appreciation Project — an initiative of the Seacoast Jazz Society — will present the jazz duo of Grammy Award-winning baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan and bassist Ray Drummond. The session is scheduled for Sunday, December 9, 4:30 p.m., at The Press Room, 77 Daniel Street, Portsmouth. The event will feature a performance by the duo and importantly, an open dialogue between the audience and the performers. This is a free event.

The gifted saxophonist Gary Smulyan, winner of the 2009 and 2011 Down Beat Critics Poll for Baritone Saxophone, is considered the major voice on baritone saxophone today. Smulyan is a veteran of Woody Herman's Young Thundering Herd band, the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, the Mingus Big Band, and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. Today he's a regular member of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, performing every Monday night at New York's Village Vanguard. He has shared the bandstand with some of the jazz world's greatest luminaries, including Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Chick Corea and, crossing over the border from jazz, with Ray Charles and B.B. King.

Bassist Ray Drummond is himself a composer, arranger, bandleader, educator and producer, in addition to being one of New York's first call bassists. Drummond has performed with Betty Carter, the Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis, and presently plays with the Kenny Barron Trio, Houston Person, Bobby Hutcherson, to name just a few. He has released eight recorded albums as a leader and many more as a sideman.

Following the free performance-and-discussion session, the duo will perform from 6:00 to 9 p.m. The latter performance is subject to The Press Room's cover charge.

The Seacoast Jazz Appreciation Project was launched in 2009 with an objective of enhancing the appreciation of jazz for listeners at all levels of musical sophistication, while demystifying this uniquely American musical genre for its newest listeners. It's a chance to “hang” with some outstanding jazz musicians, to hear their music, and about their music, in a casual environment.

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